


Where It Began

by IndigoRae



Series: Hint of Fear [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2018-01-10 21:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1164519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoRae/pseuds/IndigoRae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before Heaven and Hell, before Angels and War... this is where it began.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ljunattainable](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ljunattainable/gifts).



> For ljunattainable, for helping me get set up on AO3.

“Dean, stop the car.”

Dean is so surprised by his brother’s sudden order that he actually does as he’s told. They’re driving down some no-name road in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees, and suddenly Sam sits up like he’s been poked with a cattle prod.

The car screeches to a halt and Sam rolls down his window. The silence lingers for a beat before a gunshot rings out, making them both jump. The brothers share a look; how had Sam known? Had he heard something that Dean didn’t?

A scream tears the air and Sam throws open his car door. Dean follows as he rushes into the trees.

“Sammy, be careful!”

He jumps again as a second shot rings out.

The boys push through trees at lightning speed, forcing their way through to find the source of the sound. When they reach a clearing, they stop short.

Two women aim guns at nothing. One is in front of the other, protecting her.

“Eva, get out of here!” One of them, the older one maybe, shouts.

“I’m not leaving-”

“Go!”

The younger steps back, uncertain, then turns and runs for the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. The older woman fires off another round, and it seems to actually hit something. A yelp tears through the air, startling the boys into action.

“Hey!”

The woman looks up.

“Stay back!” She orders frantically, firing again. This one seems to have missed, and she swears loudly as she drops to the ground and rolls to her side. “You can’t see it, and you’ll just get in the way!”

She’s up in an instant, already aiming again. Before she can squeeze the trigger, she’s suddenly pushed to the ground. It looks like she’s tackled by an animal, but what kind of animal is invisible? And how can she see it, when she knows they can’t?

The questions die in the boys’ minds as she lets out a scream, and they watch, frozen, as something tears into her arm. Bits of flesh are ripped away; blood splashes everywhere.

Sam is moving again, his brother on his heels. He scoops the woman up in his arms as Dean takes aim.

“Where is it?!”

“There!”

She points with her good arm and he fires without hesitation. The creature yelps and he fires again, repeating this until it stops crying out.

“Almost...” The woman breathes, nudging Sam. “Closer...”

He cautiously moves closer to where the thing should be, and she takes aim. With a deadly calm she fires three quick rounds, presumably into the thing’s head. Apparently satisfied that it won’t be getting back up, she drops her arm and sags against Sam with an exhausted sigh.

“Kari!”

Her eyes lift at the sound of what the boys assume is her name, and the other girl is running toward them. The woman, Kari, pushes away from Sam, falling to her knees as the younger girl -- Eva was it? -- drops to the ground beside her.

“Are you alright?” Kari asks. Eva nods and gently takes Kari’s arm in her hand, wrapping it with a towel she produces from who knows where.

“We need to get out of here.”

She helps Kari to her feet, and the two are about to leave when Dean clears his throat.

“Oh,” Kari breathes, looking at the boys. “Thank you for the help. But we really need to go.”

Dean falls in step beside her.

“Not until you tell us what that thing was.”

Sam takes up position on her other side, slipping an arm around her when her knees buckle. She shoots him a grateful smile before looking back to Dean.

“That...” She breathes heavily, “Was a hell hound.”

The boys share a look. A hell hound? They hadn’t heard of one of those in years!

“So it was coming for you?” Sam questions, earning a sharp look from Kari and a strangely guilty one from Eva.

“No, it-” The younger girl begins, but Kari interrupts.

“I was protecting Eva.” She says simply.

“And why was it after Eva?” Dean asks, not bothering to hide the suspicion in his tone. He knew full well what a hell hound was, and why it would have been after Eva. Hell hounds were the pit bulls of hell, and collected souls that had been sold in deals with demons.

“It’s not what you think,” Eva spoke softly, “I didn’t willingly sell my soul. I was tricked. Not that any reason could make it right, but it is what it is.”

Sam and Dean say nothing to this. Both have questions, but the girls have obviously been through a lot, and Kari’s about to pass out. Sam scoops her up again as they follow Eva to her Jeep, which is actually not far from their own.

“Why don’t you guys follow us to a motel?” Sam suggests as he carefully lays Kari into the backseat of Eva’s ride. “We can take care of Kari’s arm there.”

“Not much for hospitals, huh?” Eva gives the boys a knowing look. “Fair enough. Lead on, but make it quick.”

Dean almost grins at that. He has no intention of not making it quick.

Sam hangs back while Dean heads to the Impala. He’s watching Kari in the backseat. She’s passed out now, and after a quick internal debate, he calls out to his brother.

“Hey, you go on ahead. I’m gonna ride with Eva.”

Eva gives him an odd look.

“If you’re worried about Kari, don’t.”

“She’s unconscious. With no one back here to help keep her still, she could further injure herself.”

“Sammy’s right,” Dean speaks up before Eva can, “Why don’t you let him ride with you, and I’ll see you both at the motel.”

With little choice in the matter, Eva agrees. Sam folds himself into the backseat with Kari as Eva puts the key in the ignition.


	2. Chapter 2

Kari is unconscious on the bed in a dirty motel room. Eva doesn’t miss a beat before dropping into one of the chairs, but whether from exhaustion or just her familiarity with such places the boys aren’t sure.

Her eyes never leave Kari.

“This shouldn’t have happened,” She whispers. “She shouldn’t have gotten hurt. It was after me.”

“You can’t think of it like that. She chose to protect you; she knew the risks, and she made her decision.”

Eva’s eyes swivel to Sam’s for a moment.

“That doesn’t mean it’s right.”

Dean takes a seat in the chair opposite Eva and watches her with a critical eye. She isn’t hurt, other than maybe a couple of bruises that may or may not have been a result of the hellhound. She’s exhausted, but refuses to sleep.

“So how is it that she can see hellhounds?”

Sam gives his brother an incredulous look. Really? He has to press the issue now? Dean levels a look back at him, indifferent to his opinion on the older brother’s timing.

“Honestly,” Eva sighs, “I don’t really know. She never said anything about it until about a month ago. It was a little weird at first, but eventually we just got used to it. It’s helpful, at any rate. I can’t take them all out on my own.”

“And just how many hellhounds have you seen?”

“You mean how many have been sent after me?” She gives him a long look. “Too many. There’s no end to them. I’ve been on the run for months.”

“You’re lucky you’ve been able to stay one step ahead of them.” Sam murmurs.

“It helps when you have two people who can see them. Easier to fight back.”

Sam nods, rising to check on Kari again. Seeing that she’s fine, he looks to Eva.

“She’s gonna be out for awhile, but she’s fine. Why don’t you let us take you out for some fresh air?”

“No, I’m okay, really. I want to stay here.”

Dean stands and moves to the bed next.

“Look, you’re gonna wear yourself out sitting here worrying about her. You need to get out, clear your head. I’ll stay here, watch over Kari for you. She won’t be alone when she wakes up.”

Eva still hesitates, but when Sam lays a hand on her arm, she relents and allows him to lead her out of the room.

***

Sam takes Eva to a bar near the motel. When he asks what sort of drink she wants, he expects her to order something fruity, an appletini or something. He literally laughs out loud when she orders whiskey.

“You ever met a hunter that ordered a margarita, Sam?” She smiles.

“Well to be honest, I haven’t met many women hunters before.”

“Well, now you’ve met two of them.”

“In one day, even. Some kind of record.”

Eva laughs at that, raises her bottle in a mock salute.

“Here’s to two of the prettiest hunters I’ve ever seen.” Sam jokes, raising his bottle to clink it against hers. She blushes a little, looks away.

One drink turns into two, then somehow four. Sam learns that Eva and Kari are sisters; Kari’s the same age as Sam, Eva’s a little younger. Eva learns that Sam and Dean are brothers, that Sam is the youngest.

It’s when he leans over for a kiss and she returns it that they both realize they’ve had too much to drink, that they should back off, return to the motel.

The only problem is that neither of them is exactly safe to drive. Well, that and the fact that if they showed up drunk (or even just a little buzzed), their siblings would have both their asses.

So they need to back off of the drinks, and find somewhere to chill until they’re sober again.

“Coffee house up the street.” Sam offers.

“Lead the way.”

Maybe coffee would help them sober up a little quicker, and hide the liquor on their breath. Absently Eva realizes that she can still taste Sam on her lips. Yeah, she’s gonna need coffee.

Or another kiss. That could work too.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam and Eva still haven’t returned. Dean sits in his chair for awhile, cleans his guns, paces. His eyes swivel to the bed when Kari begins to stir.

“What the hell...”

He drops into a chair beside the bed as she cracks her eyes open.

“How ya feelin’?”

She opens her mouth, but barely a sound even comes out. She licks her dry lips and tries again.

“Like I got with a baseball bat.”

Dean cocks an eyebrow.

“And you would know what that feels like, how exactly..?”

She closes her eyes again and shakes her head.

“Never mind. Where are we?”

“A motel in the middle of some nowhere town in Indiana.”

She lays her head back, and without thinking Dean reaches out and brushes her hair back. Its a simple gesture, but it speaks of protection and safety. Kari’s eyes meet his for only a fraction of a second before he pulls away and she suddenly finds something fascinating on the opposite wall.

Dean runs a hand over his face. Kari coughs. Neither speaks for a long moment. Dean moves to the other side of the room. Kari sits up, wincing slightly as she puts weight on her injured arm.

“So, uh...” Dean coughs. “You hunt hell hounds?”

“Among other things,” Kari answers casually.

“And how exactly did that come about?”

Kari doesn’t answer right away. She studies Dean for a long moment like she’s gauging him, trying to decide if he can be trusted with the truth. He holds her gaze steadily, not backing down but not challenging her either.

“Eva’s had hellhounds on her ass for about six months. Of course, being Eva, she didn’t tell me until about two months ago.”

Dean nods. He knows how younger siblings are -- Sam would’ve done the same thing.

“So you started hunting them with her?”

“More like I tagged along. I couldn’t see them until about a month ago.”

“Yeah, about that...” Dean moves to sit in a chair at the table. “How exactly did that happen? You just woke up one day and suddenly you could see demonic pit bulls?”

Kari shrugs.

“I don’t know what happened. Eva was attacked, and for once I could see the damn thing. Fights got a little easier after that.”

“I would imagine.”

Dean says nothing else. Kari watches him for awhile, how he turns to look out the window. It’s obvious he’s waiting for his partner to come back. Is he uncomfortable here? She wouldn’t think him the type.

“So how about you and Sam -- what do you hunt? Demons, vamps, what?”

“All of the above,” Dean answers with an arrogant grin, “And then some.”

“Except for Hellhounds, obviously.”

Dean deflates just a little.

“Well, yeah. Obviously.”

He rolls his eyes and Kari laughs.

“Believe me, you’re better off. I hate it. I mean sure, it’s good to be able to help people, but unless you’re going to follow someone around for the rest of their lives, you’ll never be able to truly save them. The only way is to kill the demon that holds their contract.”

“Have you killed Eva’s demon?”

Kari looks away again. Dean knows he’s hit a touchy spot, that he shouldn’t be prying, but he pushes on anyway. If this girl’s killed a demon, he wants to know how, because he’s never heard of a way to do it.

“No,” She says finally. “I’ve no idea how to kill a demon. Exorcising them only buys a little time, but it’s the best I can do. Eva’s demon, on the other hand... he’s a slippery prick. Every time I get a lead, he’s gone before I can get the jump on him.”

Dean nods knowingly.

“Me and Sam have been searching for a demon for years. We get close, it scampers back into the shadows just out of our reach.”

Anything Kari might say next is interrupted by the slam of two car doors. Heavy footsteps lead to their door, and it opens to reveal Sam and Eva. Sam steps aside to let Eva enter the room before him, and she instantly searches out her sister on the bed.

“Kari, are you-”

Kari holds up a hand and she falls silent as she takes a seat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m okay.”

Eva’s eyes fall to her sister’s arm, where a small spot of red has begun seeping through the bandages. She frowns.

“We need to clean this again.”

“I’ll get some more bandages from the bathroom.” Sam is quick to rise to his feet, already heading for the bathroom before anyone can say anything.

Dean watches with a discerning eye as his brother quickly returns and carefully hands over the retrieved items.

“Thanks, Sam.” Eva smiles a little. “I’ve got it from here.”

“Hey Sam, can I borrow you for a minute?”

Sam looks to his brother. Dean never talks like that...

“Sure.”


	4. Chapter 4

Sam follows his brother outside and a few feet away from the motel room.

“We need to get back on the road.”

“So what, you want to just ditch the girls?”

“Look, I don’t like it either, but people are dying. We need to go.”

Sam doesn’t like it. Kari’s in no position to be driving, and Eva’s got her hands full caring for Eva. Sam’s already beginning to realize that Kari is a lot like Dean, and that means she’s gonna be stubborn. 

“Come on, man,” Dean continues. “Don’t tell me you’ve already gotten attached.”

“What? No.” Sam answers a little too quickly.

“Ah, Sammy, what did you do? You weren’t supposed to fall for her, dude, just take her out for a drink.”

“I didn’t fall for her. I just don’t think either of them is in good enough shape to be left alone.”

“Well then what do you want to do?” Sam considers this, and Dean knows exactly what he’s about to suggest. “Wait, no. We are not taking them with us.”

“We don’t have to take them with us on the job, Dean. Just let them hole up in a motel somewhere while we’re working. That way if they need help we’re not far away.”

Dean doesn’t like it. He doesn’t like attachments, or extra strings. And these girls are both.

“Either way, it isn’t our call. We need to talk to the girls.”

***

“We’re keeping them from something.”

Kari won’t meet Eva’s eyes. 

“They’re on a hunt, have to be. Why else would they be in the middle of some nowhere town in Illinois?”

“So? We’re not the ones who asked them to stay. They did that on their own. We were fine on our own. They can leave.”

Eva eyes her sister. She knows there’s something she isn’t saying.

“You don’t really want them to leave, do you?”

“You think I want them to stay? No. I know they’re hunting. But still...”

“You don’t want to interrupt the hunt, but you wouldn’t mind if they stuck around for a little while longer.” Eva summarizes. “Yeah, I know.”

***

In the end, two vehicles leave from the small motel. No one knows exactly how it came about; if asked, they would simply say that it “felt right”.

Eva’s Jeep follows Dean’s Impala as the boys get back to their hunt. Now that Kari is conscious again, she’s riding shotgun while Eva drives.

“I miss my car.”

“We’ll pick it up when we’re back at Danny’s place.”

Eva’s heard it a dozen times in the last week. She knows full well that Kari doesn’t like sitting shotgun, that she’d rather be behind the wheel, but there’s nothing they can do about that now. They’ll just have to wait until they swing by their brother’s place again.

Before Kari can complain further, Eva picks up her phone and scans through her contact list, finding the one most recently added. She hits ‘send’ and sets it back in it’s holder on the dashboard.

“Eva?” Her call is answered almost immediately.

“Hey, Sam. So tell us more about this hunt.”

The girls can hear Sam and Dean bickering back and forth. Apparently Dean isn’t happy that Sam told them about the hunt.

“Uh, yeah. Just a normal haunt, nothing to serious. We’ve handled dozens of ghosts before.”

Dean mutters something in the background, but Eva ignores him.

“Well, if you guys want an extra pair of hands, let me know. My calendar is clear.”

***

The boys can handle the case on their own, of course. But that doesn’t stop them from checking on the girls afterward, or getting a room in the same motel. The job takes them two days, and they’re moderately surprised that Kari and Eva are still hanging around at that point. Surely they have somewhere to be, right?

“So...” Sam scratches the back of his head. “Kari’s doing a lot better.”

He and Eva had gone out for drinks again while Kari stayed at the motel to research their next job. Dean’s at the same bar, but judging by the two blondes he’s conversing with, it’s unlikely he’s paying much attention to his brother.

“Yeah. She’s really ready to get her car though.” Eva rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “She’s always itching to be behind the wheel.”

“I know what you mean.”

Sam looks back at Dean, and Eva laughs. They drink their liquor in silence for a few minutes before Sam speaks again.

“Listen, Eva... about the other day-”

“Don’t worry about it, Sam. We both got in a little over our heads with that. But it’s nothing that should affect us here and now, right?”

“Y-yeah, exactly.” Sam’s relieved that she isn’t mad. “So we’re good?”

Eva finishes her drink and stands up from the bar. With a small smile, she leans up and kisses Sam on the cheek.

“Yeah, we’re good.”


End file.
